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Semper bibendum

English translation: (It) ought always to be drinking


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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Latin term or phrase:Semper bibendum
English translation:(It) ought always to be drinking
Entered by: Joseph J. Brazauskas
Options:
- Contribute to this entry
- Include in personal glossary

02:52 Jun 17, 2008
Latin to English translations [Non-PRO]
Other
Latin term or phrase: Semper bibendum
Practically i`ve a few ideas what this could mean:

1. Let us always drink/have a glass.
2. Someone who`s been/is always drinking.
3. Let us drink in such way we can always drink more (i.e. not too much in a time/responsibly)

Which one suits the most? And of course I would appreciate your interpretations of this saying. Thanks!
kaserx
(It) ought always to be drunk
Explanation:
Less literally, 'It's always worth drinking'. I believe that it's from Horace, but I'm not sure of the exact locus.
Selected response from:

Joseph J. Brazauskas
United States
Local time: 01:30
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1(It) ought always to be drunkJoseph J. Brazauskas
4Always drinkingxxxmatmcv


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Always drinking


Explanation:
What on Earth is the context?! How exactly you want to translate this will depend on it. You seem to already know this literal meaning that I've put, what exactly the phrase is intended to mean as a saying cannot be determined without clarification of a context.

I would say your option 3 is unlikely tho. It's most likely your #1 or a simple description of a drunkard.

xxxmatmcv
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:30
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Joseph J. Brazauskas: 'Bibendum' is gerund or gerundive and so is not only passive but also implies obligation, necessity, propriety, etc./In English and the Romance languages it has active force, but not in Latin, although it may often conveniently be rendered as active.
1 hr
  -> Really? I thought the gerund was active!
neutral  Olga Cartlidge: In this case I d put something like " continuous / non - stop drinking (but such use of the Gerund was not known in classical Latin).
2 hrs
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
(It) ought always to be drunk


Explanation:
Less literally, 'It's always worth drinking'. I believe that it's from Horace, but I'm not sure of the exact locus.

Joseph J. Brazauskas
United States
Local time: 01:30
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 19

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Olga Cartlidge: As postulated by one of the Russian tzars about 700 years ago ; -)) who was making reference to his own country of course. .
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Olga./The Lithuanian Grand Dukes postulated the same--and we modern Lithuanians do too, even half-breeds like myself.
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Changes made by editors
Jun 17, 2008 - Changes made by Joseph J. Brazauskas:
Edited KOG entrykaserx's old entry - "Semper bibendum" => "(It) ought always to be drinking"


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